SARTELL ­­– About five years after being awarded a $1.5 million in state grants to create and develop Sauk River Regional Park, the city of Sartell is finally close to deciding how to spend the money.

City Council members heard proposals for developments to Sauk River Regional Park on Jan. 8 ­ in an attempt to set plans in motion for using the remaining $951,000 available for the project. The rest of the money, awarded in a 2013 grant, was used to purchase the site across the river from St. Cloud's Whitney Park.

The biggest option both in size and price tag presented was a pedestrian bridge cashing in at an estimated $730,000. The proposal also included 10 other smaller-ticket options like trailhead restrooms, beach improvements, and an amphitheater for consideration. There is also a potential for purchase of adjacent land.

A path is the Sauk River Regional Park winds along the Sauk River, shown Friday, Feb. 9, in Sartell.(Photo11: Jason Wachter, jwachter@stcloudtimes.com)

“We just didn’t have enough information really,” said Sartell Mayor Sarah Nicoll. She said they decided to postpone the final decision so council members could take a walk through the area once the snow is gone and see for themselves.

These grants expire June 30, 2020 and June 30, 2022. One of the agreements was amended to extend the expiration date to 2022.

The park is about 45 acres and includes a parking lot with lighting, a trail, plants and signage that were paid for with some the initial $1.5 million. There is also an existing pedestrian bridge that connects to the Whitney dog park.

“The pedestrian bridge is pretty expensive, so we just aren’t sure if that’s the best choice,” Nicoll said. “We don’t want to be wasteful with (the money) either. We want to be prudent.”

Whichever project is chosen for the park will have to be approved by the Department of Natural Resources for the city to get reimbursed for expenses later with the grant money, said Anita Archambeau, Sartell community development director/assistant city administrator.

While it is up to the council whether it wants to open the discussion to the public for additional renovations, she said, the existing options have already been approved by the Department of Natural Resources. So, if a new option is considered it would have to be approved before the city could come out even.

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A path from the parking lot leads to the Sauk River at Sauk River Regional Park shown Friday, Feb. 9, in Sartell.(Photo11: Jason Wachter, jwachter@stcloudtimes.com)

These discussions about Sauk River Regional Park have been an ongoing topic since the 1970s.

“Part of it is that there has to be careful consideration on how to best utilize those monies, and provide the biggest impact and greatest benefit for those that use the park,” she said.

The City Council "will not be looking at it (again) until spring," after the planned walking tour through the park, Archambeau said. “They want to be able to keep all the options open until after the walk-through.”